First overseas Qatar Visa Centre opens in Colombo
The first overseas Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) was inaugurated in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday as part of Qatar’s efforts to facilitate and streamline procedures for bringing expatriates to work.
The QVC was launched by Qatar’s ambassador to Sri Lanka Dr Rashid bin Shafea al-Marri in the presence of several dignitaries from Qatar and Sri Lanka.
Mohamed Hassan al-Obaidali, assistant undersecretary for Labour Affairs at the Ministry of Administrative Affairs, Labour and Social Affairs; Mohamed Abdullah al-Sobaie, director of the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA); Major General Abdullah Salim al-Ali, adviser to HE the Minister of Interior; Major General Mohamed Ahmad alAteeq, director of the General Directorate of Passports at the Ministry of Interior (MoI); Dr Ibrahim al-Shar, director of the Medical Commission; and Major Abdullah Khalifa al-Mohannadi, director of the Visa Support Services Department at the Passports Directorate, were among the Qatari dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony.
The Sri Lankan dignitaries present on the occasion included Ravindra Samaraweera, Minister of Labour and Trade Union Relations; Faiszer Musthapha, Minister of Provincial Councils, Local Government and Sports; Rauff Hakeem, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply; Abdul Hameed Mohamed Fowzie, Minister of State for National Unity and Co-Existence; Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and Foreign Employment; Dr Rajitha Senaratne, Minister for Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine; Rishard Badurdeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce; Mohamed Hashim Abdul Haleem, Minister of Posts, Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs; Vasantha Senanayake, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; A S P Liyanage, Sri Lankan ambassador to Qatar; Ravi Karunanayake and Mujibur Rahman, both Members of Parliament; Rosy Senanayake; Mayor of Colombo; M N Ranasinghe, Controller General – Immigration Department; Vajira Liyanaarachi, Controller – Immigration Department; Pasan Rathnayake, Additional Controller General – Immigration Department; and Chaminda Hettiarachchi, Controller – Immigration Department.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, ambassador al-Marri thanked the Sri Lankan ministers and other dignitaries and guests attending the event.
“The Qatar Visa Centre in Sri Lanka is the first of its kind in the world, and Colombo has been selected to open the first QVC due to the distinguished relations between the two countries,” he said.
On his part, Major al-Mohannadi said: “As part of Qatar’s keenness to protect the rights of expatriates and facilitate their work procedures, the Qatar Visa Centre has been opened in Sri Lanka.” He noted that this step “reflects Qatar’s keenness to ensure the protection and safety of expatriates, as the Qatar Visa Centres abroad will enable the completion of recruitment procedures through one channel easily within a shorter period”.
The QVC will provide services such as fingerprinting, biometric data process, medical examinations and the signing of employment contracts.
He said the service aims to ensure the speedy completion of expatriate workers’ transactions to start work immediately after entering Qatar, and avoid cases of workers returning to their home country if it found they are incompetent for the purpose for which they are recruited, according to an MoI statement.
After the ceremony, the attendees and guests toured the centre and learned about the various departments and units there and the facilities available.
They also learned about the mechanism of work procedures from the time a person enters the centre’s hall until signing the contract and obtaining a work visa.
The opening of the QVC in Sri Lanka comes through a partnership between the MoI, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Public Health and MoFA.